J's 1st Birthday

When the husband and I decided we were ready to have another child one of the things we considered was how much a 2nd child would affect our lives. I mean, the first child turned our lives upside down (in the best way possible). But what about 2 children? How much different could another child make our lives? How much harder could another child be? I mean, we've got this thing down after having one child. Right? Wrong. The answer to those questions is A LOT. But in the best way possible. I swear to you, J's mission in life is to show us that we have no clue what we're doing and anything we might have learned with our first child does not apply to him. He his determined to be the total opposite of M. In the best way possible.

We thought M was a grumpy baby. She hated leaving the house. Forget eating out. We couldn't eat out for at least a year after we had her. J loves to eat out. J loves to eat. J eats everything that M doesn't like and he refuses to eat the things she does like. With a few exceptions, like avocados. I have to buy 10 avocados every 2 weeks. These kids love avocados. I have to buy bananas twice a week. The apple bowl must be fully stocked at all times. Pancakes are always a hit. So are cheese sticks. M used to love sweet potato fries until J decided he loved them now she refuses to eat them. Making dinner has become a bit of a challenge. Most night I feel like I am making 4 different meals. I'm starting to think I am just going to give up and everyone can eat ice cream every meal. We all like ice cream.

No matter how grumpy M seemed as a baby, J's mission is to out-grump her. I say this with all the love in my heart, he is a grumpy old man trapped in a baby's body. He yells at everyone. Refuses to let anyone hold him besides his mom. He tolerates dad if mom is unavailable. No one else though. He still cries when little old ladies stop to coo over him in the grocery store. In fact, anytime anyone talks to him he looks at them as if to say "What do you want from me?" He can be a stick in the mud. He doesn't like bubble baths, they make him cry. Bubbles in general make him cry. Swings also make him cry. When we go to the park he prefers the safety of his stroller. He really is his mother's son so far. Cautious and skeptical but also curious about his world. Although he prefers to quietly observe without being noticed. Although he's not a fan of sleep, that is definitely a trait he gets from his dad. M and I need a lot of beauty sleep or we're pretty awful company.

One thing he does love is to snuggle and show affection. He insists on being rocked to sleep each night, and nap time as well. He recently learned how to give a kiss and we're all constantly asking him for kisses. The boy can't come in contact with something soft without stopping to snuggle it for a bit. He loves to laugh. We're convinced he tells us jokes. He'll jabber away in his baby talk and then laugh and laugh. He loves peek-a-boo M is the funniest person he knows and she loves to make him laugh by doing karate kicks and shouting "Hi-ya". Now that he's able to stand up and hold onto something he will kick his little leg out and shout "hi-ya". He also does is while he's in his car seat which is pretty silly. When he gets excited he scrunches his nose up and makes a sniffling sound and swings his arm. Sometimes he will shake his booty her act like he's riding a horse when he's really pleased with something. When he eats something delicious he throws his hands in the air and says "Mmm". As much as he loves the 3 of us, he really enjoys playing with his toys by himself. You couldn't possibly read J too many books, he loves books.

We can't believe this boy has been in our lives for only 1 short year. It fells like he's been a part of us since the beginning of time. We can't get enough of our hunk.

Speaking of birthdays, his party was this past weekend. His middle name inspired me to throw a Cowboys and Indians pow-wow in the backyard.

 We grilled hotdogs. We ate too much watermelon. I made some delicious cupcakes.

You can find the recipe for the cupcakes here and the frosting here. I planned on making a recipe for Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cupcakes but my husband talked me out of it last minute and I went the cheater's route. The toppers I found at Michael's for $3 for a giant tub. You can get them on Amazon too. I also made name tags with either an Indian name or a cowboy name and everyone drew a name tag which told them whether they were a cowboy or and Indian and they then got a hat or a feathered head band. Somehow it didn't go as well I hoped since I still have a ton of cowboy hats.

Oh, and we built a teepee. Somehow I failed to get a picture of it standing up in the yard on the day of the party but I did take a picture while I was painting it.

It was surprisingly easy and cheap to make. We followed these instructions that I found on Pinterest. All in all, the party was a success. I should probably join some sort of 12 step program for obsessively planning children's birthday parties, or any party in my mind all day long. What can I say? This little tribe loves a good party.

Now it's time to plan M's 4th birthday party! Oh my! How did we end up with a 1 year old and a 4 year old? When did that happen? How did that happen? Where did they come from? I'm going to keep them.